Jimmy Kimmel returned from his summer break on Sept. 8 with another milestone waiting for him, the 4,000th episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!. Hours earlier, however, a report claimed his long-running ABC tenure was entering its final stretch.
Page Six reported that Kimmel’s current contract would not be extended when it expires in May 2027, citing a source familiar with the situation. If true, the date would bring his run behind the ABC late-night desk to an end after more than 24 years.
ABC responded with a very different account. A spokesperson said the report was “inaccurate” and added that any claims about the future of the show at this point are “purely speculative.”
Kimmel is signed through May 2027, but ABC says it has not announced a final season, cancellation or departure.
ABC Says the 2027 Ending Report Is ‘Inaccurate’
“His contract is not getting extended,” the person said, with The Page Six reporting that the show would wrap in May 2027. ABC did more than decline to discuss negotiations. In a statement also provided to Just Jared, the network said, “This information is inaccurate, any reports about the future of the show at this point are purely speculative.”
Kimmel himself did not use his Sept. 8 return monologue to address the report. Instead, he spent much of the opening catching up on news from the summer and marking the fact that the broadcast was his show’s 4,000th episode.
Kimmel’s Current Contract Really Does End in May 2027
ABC announced in December 2025 that Kimmel had signed a one-year contract extension that would keep him with the network through May 2027. That deal was shorter than his previous renewal pattern.
Entertainment Weekly reported that Kimmel had commonly signed three-year extensions in the past, while the December agreement extended a contract that had been due to expire in May 2026 by only one additional year.
TMZ added another unconfirmed element, reporting that one source had heard discussion among staff that Kimmel was pitching other television shows and podcasts.
Kimmel Has Been Publicly Wrestling With Retirement
He has discussed leaving late night for years, although his recent comments have sounded more conflicted than definitive. Kimmel and his wife, Jimmy Kimmel Live! executive producer and co-head writer Molly McNearney, appeared together on the Aug. 24 episode of Armchair Expert. Asked about retirement, Kimmel said he worries about making a dramatic exit only to regret it and eventually return with a lesser version of the same work.
McNearney admitted that him leaving the nightly grind “definitely appeals” to her because of what the job does to the household, but she was equally conflicted. She described Kimmel as having “a fly rod in one hand and a torch in the other”, deserving the chance to relax while also doing work she believes matters.
Kimmel offered another reason for staying. He said he now feels some responsibility to viewers who see the program as an outlet for their frustration, giving him a reason beyond money to continue doing it.
He Said in June He Had ‘No Idea’ What Comes After This Deal
Kimmel’s uncertainty was already visible months before the latest report. In a June interview with Vulture, he acknowledged that ABC had not yet started discussions with him about what would happen after May 2027.
“I don’t know what ABC is going to want to do,” he said. What Kimmel said he wanted most was freedom. He talked about wanting the ability to go fishing when the conditions were right rather than organizing his life around the demands of producing a nightly television show.
‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ Is Still Operating Normally
There was no farewell atmosphere when Kimmel returned from his summer break. ABC’s official schedule had Andrew Garfield and Joey King booked for Sept. 8, followed by Mariska Hargitay and Kaia Gerber on Sept. 9 and Gal Gadot on Sept. 10.
Kimmel had spent much of the summer away while a rotating group of guest hosts kept the show running. The lineup included Tiffany Haddish, Ike Barinholtz, Colman Domingo, Anthony Anderson, Jelly Roll and Rosie O’Donnell.
His ABC workload also extends beyond late night. On Sept. 5, Kimmel won the Emmy for Outstanding Host for a Game Show for Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, earning the award for a second consecutive year.